How many times have you seen cybersecurity breaches in the news in the last year? If you can recall even one time, we think that is one too many.
Why? Because that one news story you might have seen represents a company that potentially experienced significant downtime, loss of data, unplanned exposure of user information, and the list goes on. It takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to get your organization to where it is right now. Make sure you are protecting your business despite the rising threats in cybercrime.
Not Just Big Business
Cybersecurity threats are consistently evolving, and as 2019 approaches these threats will only grow in strength and maturity. Remember Equifax, where the personal data of 145 million people was stolen? Or WannaCry ransomware, where machines were locked down in more than 150 countries? Although Equifax is one of the largest credit bureaus out there, small businesses are not out of sight for cybercriminals. Sometimes these small businesses are direct targets, as cybercriminals assume they do not have strong security measures in place. According to Symantec, 43% of cyber attacks target small businesses, and the U.S. National Cyber Security Alliance found that 60% of SMBs go out of business within 6 months of a cyber attack.
Protection Methods
We do have good news, however, and there are ways to effectively protect your business from becoming a mark on the checklist of a cybercriminal.
Antivirus. We can't stress this enough - it's important to have a quality antivirus in place that can not only re-actively detect viruses and malware, but can actively prevent them from entering your system as well. Want to discuss quality antivirus with a Five Nines team member? Click here and mention this blog in your message.
Two-Factor Authentication. Implement two-factor authentication when any employee attempts to sign on to any internal system. When an employee goes to log in, they must confirm it is them via email or push notification on their mobile device as an extra precaution. This action typically takes less than 10 seconds and could save your organization a lot of time and money in the long run.
Intrusion Monitoring. Implementing intrusion monitoring on your systems will help to detect suspicious system and network activity. If suspicious activity is detected, it will generate an alarm or activate email alerts to draw attention to a potential security breach. That way, your IT team can always be on top of what is going on within your system.
Employee Training. Employees are a large target when it comes to cybercrime, as they can be tricked into clicking on things they shouldn't, accidentally leaving room for a cybercriminal to access to your entire network. The more trained and informed your employees are, the more skeptical they will be about clicking on random links, accessing unprotected Wi-Fi networks, using easy passwords/one password for everything, etc. Don't let your employees fall victim to a cyber attack that could infiltrate your entire organization.
Quality IT Team. It's important that you have a trusted IT team on your side, whether they are internal or a Managed Services Provider. Having a team that can provide you with 24/7/365 support and monitoring is key to actively detecting and preventing cybercrime attempts.
While cybersecurity breaches are hitting headlines, many businesses are taking the necessary steps to keep their organization properly protected. Don't overlook these rising threats, be proactive in protecting your business from cybercrime.
Not sure if everything you are doing is enough? We can help.
